With a victory over Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo on his résumé, Aaraj is sure to draw plenty of attention despite stretching out around two turns for the first time in Saturday’s $51,000 allowance feature at Gulfstream Park. The mile and 70-yard test for 3-year-olds is the first of two allowance races on the card to be decided over the Tapeta course along with a five-furlong dash that lured a field of 10 older horses topped by the speedy Chilean-bred Zarak. Aaraj led from gate to wire before cruising to an easy 2 3/4-length decision over Arcangelo when both launched their careers over a sloppy track on Dec. 17. Aaraj has started just twice since, finishing a distant fifth when overmatched against the likes of General Jim and Super Chow in the Grade 3 Swale before finishing third making his first start over the Tapeta track going five furlongs under allowance conditions April 2. Trainer Jose D’Angelo had Aaraj gelded shortly after his last outing and has given him five works in preparation for his return, including a bullet half-mile in 47.40 seconds from the gate at Palm Meadows on June 30. D’Angelo admitted he was a little surprised Aaraj ran so well and was good enough to defeat a horse as talented as Arcangelo in his debut. “I always knew he was going to be a good horse, but I thought he might need a race the first time and obviously he ran really big to beat the [eventual] Belmont winner,” D’Angelo said. “His race in the Swale was a disappointment, although to be honest, I don’t think he likes the dirt. I worked him once on the turf during the Championship meet and he was a different horse. I thought he ran well over the Tapeta the first time as well.” D’Angelo said he believes Aaraj will like the added distance on Saturday, but again believes he might need a race going two turns off the three-month layoff. “I expect he should be in front stretching out. We pushed him a little in his last work from the gate trying to get him ready to win, although it’s hard to win wire to wire on the Tapeta track, especially off a layoff like he’s had,” D’Angelo said. Aaraj is one of two 3-year-olds D’Angelo entered in the race along with Ordinary, who finished a non-threatening fifth in both the English Channel and Not Surprising stakes in his last two starts. :: Get ready for summer racing with a DRF Formulator Quarterly PP plan Lights of Broadway is already a stakes winner over the surface, having rallied to capture the Armed Forces on the Tapeta at 2. He ultimately showed up under a $35,000 claiming tag during the spring and was claimed by trainer Peter Walder out of a third-place finish that day on grass before switching back to the synthetic track to finish third after prompting the pace for seven furlongs in the Not Surprising four weeks later. Mutaawid, Centrodelantero, who races with blinkers for the first time, and the newly gelded Gentleman Gerry complete the field. ◗ The Chilean-bred Zarak ran huge in defeat in his U.S. debut, finishing second to the odds-on favorite and red-hot Big and Classy after setting a hotly contested pace under similar allowance conditions here last month while earning a very respectable 88 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. Zarak is likely to face similar pressure for the lead once again, with Marley Luck and Happy Runner in the lineup, which could help set the table for late-runners such as the improving Rockin Roller, or the stakes-placed Capture the Time, who is making the third start of his current form cycle. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.